Purpose: To develop comfort when being hit by a ball pitched into the dirt. Practice catching scenarios should be done when coaching softball.
Procedure: As catcher, you are located at home plate with full gear on. The coach will stand about six feet away with several soft balls. Start on your knees in the blocking position with your glove and hand placed accordingly. The coach will throw five to eight balls consecutively. The throws will bounce in the dirt directly in front of you so that they bounce and hit you. Relax, and become familiar with being struck by a ball hit into the dirt- Breathe out as you are hit by the ball.

You may use softer balls take the fear factor out of skill development. Emphasize that the catchers are acting as walls, and that nothing should get through them. Watch for and eliminate any body tension in players. coach or another catcher. Additional padding may be used to protect the exposed part of the bare arm, especially if the catchers are feeling bare up at the time.

Purpose: Time and evaluate the speed of each person. Increasing speed should be a goal in coaching softball.

Procedure: The team will need stationary bases and speed. For running home to first take an actual swing. when touching first base, lean forward as if , breaking the tape in a sprinting competition. Don’t lunge for the bag. Sprint in a normal fashion. When running first to third or home to home, start from the base or the actual lead. Make a cut out towards right field just before rounding second base. Try leaning to the left when rounding the bag. Be sure to touch every base during the activity. Add three seconds if you miss a base. No sliding. Add in the 60s yard dash for high school and up. Write the times down for each kid, and see if they improve over time.

Purpose: This competitive game teaches throwing accuracy, team work and quickness. Adding games to drills make practice more fun when coaching softball
Procedure: softball, gloves, and colored vests. Make two distinct teams. Designate playing boundaries similar to a game of “Ultimate Frisbee.” While playing outside on a diamond, name the outfield foul lines as the “touchdown areas.” Kids can play anywhere but only on the outfield grass, for example. The goal is to complete a series of throws to teammates, and then reach the other foul line.
Put at least three opposing teams. You cannot throw underhand. Defenders must be feet away and cannot touch anyone. The receivers can only take 2 or 3 steps after a successful catch. Upon receiving the ball, throwers must make a toss or else a turnover is called. Make short tosses. A dropped or missed throw, the ball goes to the other team, One team starts with the ball. Attempt to make accurate throws. Point is awarded for every successful throw caught beyond the foul line. After a “touchdown,” the “losing” team should walk to the other end line. The next game should begin with a “throw-off” to the other team. Play to 10 points.

Purpose: Hitters are challenged to see the ball and hit it hard. How hard they hit the ball, and where, dictates the points they receive. After learning the basics, softball hitting techniques should be developed.
Procedure: This drill will be needing bats, balls, helmets and gloves. This game can be played either inside or outdoors while using a pitching machine or live arm. The hitter should aim to hit ground balls and/or line drives. Only fair balls count. Issue 7 to 10 swings each.
Hitter Scoring Includes:
10 points: Line drive up the middle. 5 points: Line drive anywhere else. 3 points: Hard hit ground ball. 2 points: Slowly hit ground ball, 1 point: Pop-up/fly ball. Another variation of this game, arrange a fielder at each position (no catcher) and rotate people after each hitter. Both hitters and fielders can now earn points on virtually every swing. Establish priority on subsequent grounders and fly balls. Try to maintain equal at-bats and fielding attempts it the different positions for each of the players. Include both of the scoring systems.
Fielder Scoring Includes:
10 points: Difficult catch of a line drive. 3 points: Difficult catch of a ground ball. 2 points: Routine catch of a ground ball. 1 point: Routine catch of a pop-Up/fly ball.

Purpose: To practice the catcher to field bunts. It’s important to put several softball fielding tip in catching drills to improve catcher’s performance.

Procedure: As catcher, you’re positioned at home plate in full equipment. A coach or another catcher will stand behind you with softballs. Start in your receiving position as if there was a runner on base. The coach or other catcher will toss out a “bunt” to various spots on the infield. You will spring forward and set your feet to field the bunt properly and make the throw. After that or four bunts, switch with your partner. Bunts should be tossed in various directions to work on different approaches.

Concentrate on the footwork involved with fielding bunts correctly. Catchers should be working on developing quick feet. Make sure they keep their masks on while making the throw.

Procedure: Place a chair or short ladder in the batter’s box opposite the hitter. Your partner will stand on the chair and instruct you to Stride. Upon complying your stride, yom partner will drop the ball into the hitting zone from above. You must explode your hips to generate the bar speed necessary to make contact.

Due to the difficulty of this drill, I wouldn’t recommend it for beginners they may become quickly discouraged.

Purpose: To put a lot of ground ball repetitions in a short period of time. To promote good fielding mechanics. Repetition in training is a good softball fielding tip

Procedure: You will need four people to hit ground balls and four people to catch. Also, each hitter will need a good supply of balls. All infielders and outfielders should be positioned at the four infield spots. Catchers can also go to an infield position unless needed to catch or hit.

At the younger levels, try to get other coaches or parents to hit and catch in order to ittpre of your players available to field ground balls. At the older levels, It is important to observe the mechanics and reinforce good habits. You may want to have a reward system for consistent good plays and/or accurate throws, this may help improve focus and concentration throughout the drill.